44 Chapter 44

"Andromeda, of course, you are beautiful. Unfortunately, I am a vain and selfish man with an unhealthy obsession with the opposite sex, constantly chasing beautiful women. Do you think I would hire an ugly secretary that I would see all the time, day in and day out? No, obviously not. I only have the best, and that is what you are, so what is wrong, Andromeda? Something must have happened for you to be thinking such absurd thoughts so suddenly?" I inquire, wanting to know what is upsetting her so much. to have lost such faith in herself. Usually, she has a remarkable self-assuredness, but something has demolished that now.

"Wha- I-It's nothing, Gilderoy. Just ignore me. I am just complaining about something stupid. Let's get on with the meeting, shall we?" She tries to reflect and move on past the subject, but I can see that she is appalled that I heard her mutterings and called her out on it to resolve the issue. I want to help her not only because I like her but because she is the main driving force behind my company and my only employee at the moment. I am relying on her to do most of the work, and if she is not confident or assured of herself, then how can she convince others in negotiations and make me money? I need to fix this now.

"It is not nothing, Andi. I hired a confident, intelligent, collected, beautiful woman that I could trust to handle most of the work without supervision and thrive. In this business, and in life in general, confidence is key, and if yours is wavering, then how can I trust you to work to the best of your ability? Please sit down and talk to me, Andromeda, and tell me what is wrong. That is an order from your boss." I say, getting up from the bed that I have in my office and waving my wand at it to return it to its original form, a comfortable sofa. With magic being so convenient and me wanting to mess with Andromeda, I did all my activities in my office, but of course, not all the women were into that, so I just made a bed.

With the bed now a comfortable couch, I sit back down on it and tuck my wand away, calmly patting the seat beside me while staring Andromeda down. She stays still, not saying anything, but is spurred into action when I raise an eyebrow at her and make it clear that I will not let this go. With a sigh, Andromeda walks over and takes the seat, making sure there is a sufficient gap between us which is when I notice that I am still shirtless and only wearing some loose pants, but since she doesn't say anything, I don't move to change, content and comfortable as I am.

"Alright, take your time. You can take as much time as you need, but we can be here for ten minutes or for ten hours because I am not letting you go until you have everything off of your chest." I say, giving her enough slack not to feel pressured but also not letting off enough that she can simply shirk me off and ignore me. Andromeda can take as long as she wants, but she is telling me what is wrong before she leaves this room.

"You want me to get everything off my chest? Does that include my shirt and bra, or are you not being an insatiable human being for once?" She says, and I presume she is trying to distract me and change the subject so she can leave. So I won't dignify that with a response because as much as I would love to see such a sight, my business is more important than a momentary high of pleasure.

Staying silent, I sit there calmly and simply wait for her to speak. Andromeda stares back for a bit before averting her eyes and then looking at the ground. I see her legs twitching minutely as if she is trying to work up the strength to get up and leave, but she can't bring herself to do it and finds herself stuck on the chair before she eventually gives up and sighs before turning to look at me.

"My husband didn't want me to take this job..." So she says to start off, not knowing how to carry on from there. This revelation does surprise me, however, since I remember pretty specifically that when I offered Andromeda the job, and we were talking through the specifics, she said she had to go home and talk it over with her family, and then she came back and agreed to work for me, so I thought they were onboard with it.

"Your husband, Ted, right? Isn't he happy with you having a job? Why, plus you have been doing it for the past few months, so why is this becoming a problem now?" According to her, Ted didn't want her to take the job in the first place, but she did even so, and she has been performing just fine so far, even without his approval, so what has changed?

"My husband didn't want me to take this job purely because of his feelings. Hmph, and I would have been fine turning down the job if he wanted me to, but the second I mentioned it, he shut me down hard and forbade me from doing it. Not even taking the chance to think about me or even talk it out, just a straight-up no, so I made the decision that was best for myself for once and took the job. My daughter has been very supportive, but Ted has been very unhappy with it." Yeah, that tracks. Andromeda is the kind of woman that doesn't like to be told what to do and has an independent streak a mile long. Hell, she ran away from her family when they tried to force her into a marriage.

"Mm, yeah, I can see that. I have only known you for a few months, and even I know that trying to control you or tell you what to do is a bad idea. I know every order I give you can be easily refuted if you are totally against it, which is why I am surprised you listened to me and stayed here to talk to me. Something must be seriously wrong, so what has he done now that has got you so down in the dumps." I continue to pry at her, trying to get her to open up to me some more. This woman can be as solid as stone. Even with the intimate acts I have been performing before her on purpose, she didn't say anything and kept it in before erupting because of an outside influence.

"Ever since I took this job, I have been arguing with my husband, at least whenever we actually see each other, since he is always at work anyway, which is part of the reason I wanted my own job. He works way too many hours and does too much for so little pay, and everyone takes advantage of him. All I wanted was to help out, but he couldn't accept it, his pathetic pride getting in the way. So now we hardly speak without arguing, he spends most of his days at work, and when he comes home, he ignores me. We don't even sleep in the same bed even more. And then..." She stalls, and I find myself leaning forward in anticipation.

"And then?" I say, trying to lead her forward. I really want to get this out of her, and I can't say it is for purely pure reasons either since if she leaves her husband, then I can shoot my shot at her, and she is not the type of woman I would obliviate afterwards since I actually like her. Sure, I don't want to be the reason for a family to break up. Still, if it happens naturally due to the husband being an asshole and with the daughter all grown up and independent, and without any assistance from myself, then I am okay with that.

Sure, I might be the reason in an abject sort of way since I gave Andromeda the job, but I am not the reason for Ted being a dick and denying her the right to work and putting the strain on his own relationship. Okay, yes, I might be making excuses for myself, but if that stupid idiot can't appreciate and takes for granted the woman that left her entire life behind to be with him, then he doesn't deserve her. And while I probably don't deserve her either, I am not going to let something like that stop me.

"A few days ago, I had decided I had had enough and resolved myself to confront him and talk about it because I can't keep living like that. Nymphadora had already gone back to Hogwarts, so the house was becoming unbearable. And so I cornered him when he got back and tried to talk to him. I really tried, you know, but do you know what he said to me?" She questions, not me necessarily, but the situation in general, as if whatever happened was so incomprehensible that she was questioning reality. I shake my head, prompting her to continue.

"He said I shouldn't be working, that I should stay at home, and it is the man's job to provide for the family. He shouted at me, telling me I was ruining the family by trying to do something for myself, and I was just reminded of my old family. The appearance might have changed, but he was saying the same things in essence. Trying to control me, deciding how I should be and what I should do, and I almost laughed at the hilarity of the situation. I ran away from my home for him to get away from my family's control, and now he was doing what they had. I am really an idiot, aren't I?" She rants, sniffling at the end.

The room devolves into silence, and I don't really know how to help her. And then I think to myself, do I want to help her, and if so, in what ways? It could be called helping to give her advice and save her marriage, or I could help her by advising her to leave a bad marriage which would also be to my benefit—a lot of options here and not a lot of time to choose. So I decided just to do what comes naturally, and my natural instinct is to help myself. Yeah, I am a bastard, but t least I know what I am about, unlike those people that waffle about trying to deny it. I am an asshole.

"Hey, that is not true at all. You are not an idiot." I say, scooching up to her on the sofa and putting my right hand on her knee, my hand feeling the soft nylon on my fingers. And I reach my left hand out to her chi, dragging her head from looking forlornly at the ground to look at me, and I stare deep into her eyes. She seems a bit dazed, but she doesn't say anything, which I take as a sign to carry on.

"Gilderoy..." She mutters, stunned and unable to react at the sudden direction this interaction has taken. Even so, she doesn't try to move away, she doesn't flinch away from my touch, and my hands still rest gently on her knee, and the other still holds her chin softly. Her eyes stare back into mine, but she doesn't flinch away. I don't know exactly what she is feeling, but there isn't anything negative in her gaze.

"Listen to me, Andi. This is the truth, the absolute truth, and I refuse to believe differently. You are a beautiful, kind, gentle woman. And at the same time, you are funny, with a wicked sense of humour, and you can be so invested in something, you care so much, and there is a fire inside you that burns brightly in the darkness of the world. A beacon for idiots like myself that need some help, and I can't help but want to be around you all the time. You draw me in being the miraculous woman that you are, and..." I pause here, still gazing deep into her eyes, and she is staring just as intensely back into mine.

She hangs on tenterhooks as she waits for me to finish what I am saying, but I decide that actions are worth way more than words. And so I lean in, moving towards her. She doesn't seem to realise what is happening, but she isn't moving away as I come closer, either. So I don't just force myself on her, and I give her ample time to react, which she does not.

And then my lips are on hers.

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